Forever HIVE five plus one
by ForeverDelighted
Summary: Jinx leaves the HIVE five temporarily, determined to become a respected and powerful villainous. When she returns she is just as determined to make her old team the best team out there and finally earn the respect they deserve. But will the teen titans and a certain Kid Flash try to stop her? Or are there bigger fish to fry?
1. Appreciation Part 1

Teen Titans

Forever HIVE

Summary: Takes place after Lightspeed. Jinx leaves the HIVE five temporarily, determined to become a respected and powerful villainous. When she returns she is just as determined to make her old team the best team out there and finally earn the respect they deserve. But will the teen titans and a certain Kid Flash try to stop her? Or are there bigger fish to fry?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or any of the charchters in the show

Chapter One-Appreciation (part one)

* * *

They say you never truly realize what you have until it's gone. Only when it is gone do you appreciate just how important a part it played in your life.

* * *

Inside the HIVE five spare base, the boys were busying themselves with their usually routine.

Mammoth and Billy Numerous-along with two of his doppelganger-were playing Black Ops in the main area. Two of the Billy's quickly began cursing and swearing at one another claiming the other was cheating; a fight swiftly broke out within seconds and the two went crashing to the ground in a blur of fists and punches.

Gizmo was sitting at the kitchen table, a glass of milk next to him and his latest gadget he was working on. His tools and equipment along with construction plans were sprawled out chaotically across the table and See-More had to shove half it off the table to clear a space for him to sit.

Kid Wicked was still sound asleep in his room. Well, the rest of the boys assumed that he was. They wouldn't go and check though; it was safer to assume he was still in there fast asleep. Last time one of the boys had went to wake him up for breakfast they had found out, in a _**very**_ unpleasant way, that Kid Wicked was definitely _**not**_ a morning person.

Poor Gizmo had never gotten over the experience and refused to go anywhere near Kid Wickeds room until well into the afternoon. Only Jinx was able to go in the morning and wake him up and still come out alive and breathing. Gizmo had barely escaped with the skin of his teeth.

"So Gizmo what'ch ya working on?" See-More asked Gizmo, a question mark appearing in his giant eyeball.

The small boy genius grinned wickedly "I like to call it a bugger. It's magnetic and all you have to do is toss it onto a computer and it inserts a virus which copies and transmits all the computers information, history, files you name it and then delete it all from the original computer."

"Impressive" See-more nodded, hoping off his seat to get a glass of milk. He opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of milk. "So where's Jinx?"

"How should I know?" Gizmos stomach growled loudly and he blushed. Putting down his screwdriver and ratchet, he glanced around the room. "It's kinda weird though. She's usually up before us and has breakfast made and all that. Man I'm starving."

"Now that I think about it, did she even come home last night?"

Gizmo turned around in his chair and threw his arms over the back of it. "I didn't hear her come in."

He paused to consider then waved his hand dismissively before returning to his project. "Ack, she always comes home. She probably just got home late last night and is sleeping in" Gizmo rationalized.

"Oh please, don't worry about it. She's probably already up and is jist havin some hassel waking up Kid Wicked. He seemed in a huff bout somethin" Billy Numerous shouted over from across the room. He was too absorbed in his game to make any real eye contact.

Gizmo shivered at the thought of Jinx having to wake up Kid Wicked.

"Yeah, well I'm surprised you lot aren't still blowing steam after that Kid Flash trashed the base. Kid Wicked wasn't too happy about having his room shredded. Neither was Jinx for that matter" Mammoth chipped in.

"Well there's no use crying over spilled milk is there" Gizmo quipped. "Big deal his room got wrecked. He has a room in this base to"

See-More shook his head. "Am gonna go check on her, alright."

* * *

See-More arrived at Jinx's room door and timidly knocked on it. "Hey Jinx, it's me."

No answer.

Knock, knock, knock "Jinx, it's me See-More. You there?"

Worriedly, he quickly tapped in the security code to her door. She would probably be furious with him for entering her room. But he was worried; it wasn't like her to be the last out of bed, she was usually the first one up and yelling at everyone to get their lazy butts out of bed.

The door beeped and slid open.

See-Mores gut tightened a little, Jinx wasn't here. '_Maybe Billy was righ_t' he tried to reassure himself '_she's was probably just having more trouble than usually trying to wake up Kid Wicked.' _

He decided he would go check though; just to be on the safe side.

Kid Wickeds room was just down the hall from hers, so it only took him a few seconds to get there.

He was about to knock on the door when a fleeting thought occurred to him. Was it really a good idea to go in there? If Jinx wasn't in there trying to wake up Kid Wicked then that meant he was most likely still asleep. Now did he _**really**_ want to have Kid Wickeds wrath unleashed upon him?

He shivered as he recalled how shaken up Gizmo had been. The boy genius had refused to go anywhere near Kid Wicked for a month and even after he agreed to be in the same room as the boy he still refused to go anywhere near the room before noon. Hell, he hadn't been down on the same floor as Kid Wickeds room ever since.

But Jinx wasn't in her room and he would have run into her on his way down here if she had just woken up. So she had to be in there; where else could she be?

'_It should be safe so long as Jinx is in there. She can keep Kid Wicked under control_' See-More rationalized with himself.

He didn't bother to knock and instead dialed in the security code and waited for the door to beep.

"Yo Kid Wicked, Jinx, you alright down…"

A pair of blazing red eyes snapped open in the darkness and glared murderously.

* * *

Upstairs the boys all turned their heads at the sound of a blood curdling, soul shattering scream that rocked the entire base.

See-More learn two things about Kid Wicked that morning, one of which he already knew.

One, that Kid Wicked was not a morning person. This he already knew but now he knew just how _much_ of a morning person he wasn't.

And two, he was a very, _**very **_light sleeper.

* * *

"Okay, so she didn't come home last night" Mammoth said, it was more of a statement rather than a question.

A shaken See-More nodded his head.

Gizmo sat was sitting on top of the kitchen counter hunched over in a fit of laughter.

"You…you…you're an idiot. You actually…willingly…despite what…you know. Went into…kid's room. And without knocking!" Gizmo wheezed between laughter.

"You know, one would think ye'd be more sympathetic seeing as ye cin relate" Billy quipped as he patted See-More on the back.

In a swirl of darkness Kid Wicked appeared behind Gizmo.

"No way, this is brilliant. What'd he do to you did he…" Gizmos words strayed. He felt as though some primal instinct was taking over and he knew, he just knew, someone was watching him. Nervously, he turned around and found himself nose to nose with Kid Wicked.

"WOW!" Gizmo yelled as he shot backwards, toppling off the tabletop. "Kid Flash was right; we really should get a bell for you or something!"

Kid Wicked looked up to Mammoth, then to Billy Numerous and finally to See-More who shivered slightly under his gaze. He then glanced around the room and disappeared in a vortex of darkness.

He reappeared a second later with Jinx's sketchbook in hand.

Mammoth understood. "We think she didn't come home last night. Do you know where she is?"

Kid Wicked shook his head.

"Oh forget her, she's probably run off with that crud-munchin speedster Kid Flash" Gizmo snapped as he dusted off his the dirt from his clothes.

Kid Wicked locked eyes with Gizmo; they had a dangerous glint to them.

Gizmo cringed and nervously waved his hands in front of him. "Umm well…I meant. Umm maybe she did come home but left early. Yeah, yeah she left early. Maybe went out to do some robbing or…something!" he finished quickly.

Kid Wicked seemed to accept this and nodded before vanishing into the darkness again.

Gizmo let out a sigh of relief and swiped his forehead to get rid of the sweat that had been pouring down it.

"You should know better by now than to talk about Jinx like that in front of Kid Wicked. I'm surprised you're still standing to be honest" Mammoth shook his head. He returned his attention back to the TV.

Gizmo shook his head "You know I'm right though!"

Mammoth didn't look at him. "We don't know where she is so don't jump to dumb conclusions. Jinx isn't the sort to just give up everything she knows for a pair of big blue eyes, alright."

"She'll come home eventually so shut up!"

* * *

Jinx didn't come home eventually. A whole week past and they hadn't heard a single word from her.

With nothing to say otherwise, Gizmos accusation became a reality. And the team was left believing that their leader had betrayed them, left them for the goody two shoes hero.

Gizmo took over the position of leader and after another week had pasted they decided the heat would have cooled off by now so they could finally return to their criminal ways.

It seemed appropriate to start off their first mission without Jinx in the Place where Jinx's betrayal truly begun.

The Jump City Museum.

And they were going to steal what Jinx had failed to steal. Along with everything else the museum had to offer of course.

Everything had been going fine. Not perfect, but fine.

They managed to break into the museum without being notice and had only had to knock out four guards. They had broken a few vases in the process but had shrugged it off, they were probably worthless anyways. And besides, they had an entire museum filled with other expensive objects to steal so what was a few vases?

It was only with the arrival of the Teen Titans did they start to come across some serious problems. Without Jinx, they weren't as coordinated as before and almost resembled headless chickens running around and hitting the first thing their fist came across. Also, with one man down it was surprisingly harder to fend of the titans. The odds were even and to be perfectly honest, they didn't really like those odds at all. They preferred having the upper hand.

After only a few minutes it became transparently clear that the titans were winning. And they were losing. Badly.

Gizmo didn't retreat however. He didn't want to be seen as a coward in the face of the teen titans. The rest of the HIVE five knew that if Jinx was here she would have had the brains to know when to call it quits and retreat. It wouldn't have been a sign of weakness. It would have been smart.

Fighting a battle they knew they were going to lose would only end them in the slammer.

Eventually Mammoth took the initiative in a rare display of intelligence and forced the team to retreat. All the while hauling a screaming four year old behind him who did nothing but scream and shout curses aimed at the Teen Titans.

Tonight's failure made a stone cold fact clear.

One that they would not admit out loud.

After all, she had left them without as much as a word or goodbye.

No explanation.

Nothing.

"_Who needs her_?" was what they would say. But did they mean it?

* * *

"Hey where the hell is my ratchet?" Gizmo cried as he stormed into the main living area of the base.

Mammoth was lazing on the couch watching the football game with little interest, his mind somewhere else.

Billy Numerous and three clones were sitting at the kitchen table playing poker. All of them cheating.

See-More was attempting to cook. It was evident he was failing miserably when he opened the oven to retrieve the chicken and a burst of flames shot out. Further calamity ensued for the boy when the soup erupted and the microwave blew up; splattering food everywhere.

Kid Wicked was nowhere to be seen. But none of the boys really seemed to notice.

"Are you deaf? I asked you load of snot pickers where the hell is my…" he didn't get to finish that sentence as he tripped over one of the larger piles of rubbish that had found a home in front of the door.

Ever since Jinx left, the base had become a pig sty. Jinx had always insisted that they keep the base as clean as possible; she didn't care if they made a mess so long as they cleaned up after themselves. She had even went so far as to create a '_who cleaned what and when_' list. T

The boys hadn't liked cleaning but at least it kept the place in some form of order and made the base livable. Not that they minded a bit of dirt but having a clean base did have its perks. And Jinx always helped out, she didn't just boss them into doing it and did her fair share.

"Dude this place reeks" Gizmo cried as he pushed himself off the ground. "Geese, I can't find anything around here."

"Ack, what'ch ya gonna do bouts it then, oh fearless leader" One of the Billy's said, saying the title mockingly.

"What do you mean what am I gonna do about it stinker!" Gizmo snapped.

"Will you guys shut up! I'm trying to watch this!" Mammoth shouted.

"Oh please, ye've been staring into space for the last half hour Mammoth" Billy muttered as he collected the other Billy's cards to shuffle the deck.

Gizmo muttered something under his breath and turned to leave. He almost walked straight into an uncomfortably close Kid Wicked.

"WOW, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Gizmo shouted as he flew backwards. "You gotta stop doing that!"

Kid Wicked looked at him thoughtfully. Then turned his attention to the room. With a look of disgust he shook his head and pointed out the window.

"Oh what are you on about" Gizmo muttered as he walked over to the window, having to almost literally swim through the garbage.

Outside he could see edge of town. Their spare base was built into the edge of a hill just outside of town. There was a large surrounding forest and the sea was nearby, all of which provided them with good cover and good means of escape should it ever be called for.

"Well, what are you on about Wicked?"

Kid Wicked appeared beside Gizmo and pointed out to the town.

Mammoth and Billy joined them to see what the fuss was about.

"What is it Kid?" Mammoth asked looking at him.

Billy scratched his head and another Billy pushed himself against the glass trying to see what it was his teammate was referring to. "I don't see nuthin."

Kid held up a sketchbook and again pointed to the town.

"I'm guessing you're talking about Jinx huh?" Mammoth asked.

Kid Wicked nodded. And again he pointed to town.

"So she's out there huh. Is that we're you've been sulking off to?" Gizmo asked as he crossed his arms.

Again, Kid nodded.

"So what, who cares! She left us and I don't care how chummy you two are because its facts! If she gave a snot about us she would still be here! Hell she would have at least told us where she went" Gizmo shouted.

Everyone fell silent at Gizmos outburst. He was angry, clearly. Despite him constantly brushing off any and all conversations about Jinx in the past couple of weeks everyone knew he was affected.

They had all been.

They missed her.

It wasn't until she was gone did they begin to realize just how big a role she played in their lives.

They missed her constantly yelling at them. Always telling them off for being stupid or screwing up yet another, if not, overly ambitious plan of hers to get them noticed by the big leagues.

They missed the good times they had. Sure there were bad times but there was also times when they would all have a good laugh and just hang about. Like back in HIVE five academy, or even after they had left the school. Just hanging about and chilling. Eating breakfast, lunch and dinner together or playing video games on the rare occurrence when they could manage to get Jinx to join in.

They missed just seeing her every day. And not knowing where she was or how she was doing was driving them insane. For all they knew she could have been kidnapped by aliens!

They needed her. But more importantly they wanted her back.

"Ugh screw this" Gizmo began to storm off, only to walk straight into Kid Wicked who teleported in fornt of his path.

Kid Wicked glared at him and pointed to the window again.

"What, you want us to go get her?"

Kid Wicked nodded.

"Why don't you go bring her back?"

Kid Wicked shook his head and looked at everyone before returning his gaze to Gizmo. He pointed his arm at each and every one of them, including himself, and then pointed out the window again.

Gizmo let out an irritated sigh. "Why the heck should we? She doesn't care about us. All she cares about is that snot nosed wanna be hero" Gizmo said a bit to bitterly.

Kid Wicked shook his head at this, held up the sketchbook and shook his head.

"You mean…she's not with Kid Flash?"

Another shake of the head.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Billy spoke up. "Then where in tarnation is she then? And why did she jist up in leave eh?"

Kid Wicked shrugged at this, and then indicated for everyone to come closer which they did.

Once they were all surrounding him he engulfed them in a wave of darkness which teleported them to the Jump City Museum.

Standing there on top of the balcony overlooking the main room…was Jinx.


	2. Back to where it all began

Chapter 2- Back to where it all began

(A/N) Just to save any confusion Appreciation (part 2) will be a later chapter.

Also, I might end up re-writing this chapter becuase personally I'm not to happy with it. So i might re-write it and try and get some dialogue into it. But let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or any characters in the show.

* * *

They say that ignorance is bliss and that the truth hurts. If you're blind to the truth then it can't hurt you. No matter how painful it is.

* * *

Jinx jumped down from the open window in the sky roof, rolling gracefully in the air before landing in a cat like fashion on her two feet. Both her arms were held out to help her keep balance.

Her eyes took in the room before her.

She was in the main exhibition room of the Jump City Museum. It was dark; the only light offered came from the lonely shinning full moon in the sky, all the stars having abandoned it.

Carefully, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small circular object. She held one arm over her mouth and skidded the device across the floor. A beat passed before smoke began spewing out of the object. After a few seconds the smoke cleared, revealing red laser beams sprawled out chaotically across the room.

A smirk appeared on Jinx's face once she removed her arm from her face.

'_To easy_' she thought smugly to herself.

Across the room she saw her target. A glass show case containing a familiar necklace that this time, she would steal. And no one, not even a certain speedy legged hero, was going to stop her.

She raised both hands in the air before lowering them to floor then kicking her feet off the ground and began to summersault, flip and twirl her way across the room, narrowly and skilfully avoiding all of the laser beams.

With a graceful flip through the air she landed on her feet, arms high above her head and eyes closed. There was a satisfied smile on her features and for a few moments she simply basked in her achievement.

Once she was satisfied with savouring the moment, she opened her eyes.

With a wave of her hand the glass showcase opened, leaving its treasure inside vulnerable and defenceless.

Jinx wasted no time in retrieving the necklace. Though she did so delicately; carefully lifting the necklace from its cushion and wrapping it in a piece of purple silk cloth. She did so with the most infinite care.

She placed her newly acquired treasure in her back pocket and turned to leave.

This time however, she would not make the mistake of leaving through the front doors. Instead, she made her way up stairs, summersaulting over a few laser beams then climbing atop some displays to reach the balcony to the second floor.

Once there, she looked for a way back up to the sky roof.

Much to her irritation there was no apparent way to get back up there. It was a one way ticket. You could get in through there, but don't count on getting out that way.

Jinx began to look around from where she stood for another way out. Turning around she saw the windows and decided they would be her ticket out of here.

She ran over to the windows and looked out of them. There was a tree she could use to help her descent. Easy. Now all she had to do was pick the lock on the window and voila! She would be out with necklace in hand. No one would know she had been there till it was too late and even if they figured out it was her she would already be long gone.

Where she was going to go she wasn't too sure, but anywhere was better than here. Here in Jump City to many questions had been raised to her. And now a day didn't go by when she didn't find herself questioning who she was or what she wanted to be. She didn't know anymore, she was…unsure of herself. Something she had never been before _he_ had come along.

It had been two weeks since Kid Flash had come into her life and stirred things up. He probably didn't even realize how much of an effect he'd had on her. He'd just raced into her life and like a careless child had shook her world like a snow globe; completely disturbing its contents and ruining the natural way of things.

Nothing made sense anymore. Everything was messed up.

And then, he'd left.

After that night with Madame Rouge the speedster had disappeared. Leaving her with unanswered questions and agonizingly alien feelings of being alone and lost. Sure, she'd been alone before…but not like this. This was different.

And never, had she felt lost before. This was a new, foreign feeling.

Before she had always known what she wanted to do. It was simple. Being bad luck had pre-destined who she would be…a villainous. Good hadn't been an option for her. How could it have been, what good is bad luck? All it does is make people miserable and bitter.

Bad luck and good just don't mix! Simple!

But no, not according to Kid Flash! Her Powers didn't define who she was? How the hell would he know! He didn't know or understand anything! He didn't know her or understand her. Everything he said was just sugar coated words, all pitiful attempts to convert her to the good side.

One less villainous to wreak havoc on the poor citizens of Jump City!

And with her out of the picture, what of the HIVE five? Granted, they would finally be the HIVE five and not the HIVE five plus one. But without her…would they be a threat?

Jinx snorted at the thought. Without her they would be headless chickens without a clue of what to do.

She had seen them on the news a few days ago.

Never, had she felt so embarrassed for anyone in her whole life.

So, Gizmo had taken over her position as leader? That was their first mistake. Gizmo was smart, yes; he could build machines of mass destruction the size of a rubber and gadgets of infinite possibilities. But he lacked leadership.

He couldn't make the big decisions when the time came to make them. He didn't know how to co-ordinate and take charge of a team and he certainly didn't know when to call it quits.

What's more he could never see the bigger picture, he'd just keep to small time robbery's and petty thievery, never trying to aspire to something more. He also couldn't, though '_wouldn't_' would be a more appropriate word, accept responsibility when things went wrong.

Sure, Jinx knew she wasn't exactly in a hurry to accept responsibility when a plan went wrong but at least she would try and correct the situation by trying to prove herself the next time an opportunity presented itself.

The thing was, to be a leader didn't simply require intelligence. It required so much more.

A leader had to consider more than him or herself. They had to think about their team. Respect them and encourage them to do their best. Yes, sometimes you had to be tough on them to keep them in line and keep them motivated and perhaps at times Jinx was a bit rash with them.

She knew she got mad at them a little too easily at times. Constantly firing hexes and screaming at them was probably not the best way to show respect either, but she always tried to make it up and look out for them in her own way.

Making them breakfast in the morning and waking them up. Making sure they trained and exercised regularly so they were prepared for the next battle. Insisting on them cleaning up after themselves so they had a clean and healthier environment to live in.

Having a cleaner environment she had noticed seemed to heighten their spirits, seeing as they didn't have to constantly swim through trash to get around the base and could find things with relative ease-assuming they had placed everything in a sensible place.

Jinx smiled at the thought of Gizmo having to swim through a sea of garbage. She imagined the others would be piled on top of one another on a small clearing, completely marooned in the sea of trash while seagulls circled above them like vultures.

Gently shaking her head, she took out two silver picks from her hair and began to pick at the lock. After a second she heard it click, and carefully, she pushed open the window.

She was about to exist through the window when a noise caught her attention.

Cautiously, she weaved her way back through the showcases and over to the balcony. She leaned over the edge, being careful so as not to be seen by any guards.

Down below she could see nothing but darkness; the clouds having stolen way the moons lights and leaving the main exhibition room to be devoured by the shadows.

The second floor was only lightened by the street lights outside and despite the light it was still very hard to see.

Seeing that nobody was there, Jinx shook her head and was about to leave when something caught her eye in the shadows beside her. Quickly, she turned to face the darkness.

A pink light engulfed her hand and she held it out in front of her; the pink light illuminating the darkness before her.

Nothing.

'_Strange. I could have sworn I saw_…' Jinx shook her head violently at the thought.

No, they wouldn't be here. Why would they? Since when did they care? They had made it perfectly clear where their loyalties lied. Over two weeks she hadn't returned and had they come searching for her?

No!

Just like somebody else who clearly didn't care.

They carried on with their lives as if nothing had changed.

The moment she had saw them on TV was the moment she knew, she truly knew that they didn't care about her in the slightest. She knew why they had attempted to rob this particular museum and she was sure she knew what they had intended to steal-well, besides everything in the museum she was pretty sure they were trying to pacifically steal what she had failed to.

A certain red ruby necklace of luck.

They had done so just to spite her.

And _that_ had been the deciding factor for her little adventure tonight. After all, she had something to prove and stealing the necklace was killing three birds with one stone.

First off, she'd be showing the HIVE five what she was made of and proving that she didn't need them and that they clearly needed her. Without her they had made complete fools of themselves trying to steal which she alone had now stolen without a shred of hassle.

It was more of a '_HA! In your face!' _kind of thing. Also, she was doing it just to spite them as they had tried to spite her. A little immature maybe, but it served them right.

The second was that it was showing Kid Flash who she was. She was a villain and his little plan of trying to convert her and '_show her the evils of her way_' had failed. No, she hadn't fallen for him or his stupid little tricks. She was a villain and that was that. And after tonight she would never allow herself to feel unsure of whom she was ever again.

Thirdly; she would finally be getting the necklace that had started all of this. The necklace that at first had simply been a desire but now represented everything she was.

Jinx let out a sigh and walked over to the balcony, resting one arm on the rail and leaning her head against her fist. With her free hand she retrieved the small bundle of purple silk from her back pocket then carefully unfolded it to reveal the red gemmed necklace.

She picked it up and dangled it in her fingers; her elbow returned to lean on the rail while her head rested in her hand.

"This all started because of you" she whispered aloud. Whether she was speaking of the necklace or Kid Flash she didn't know. All she knew was that this necklace _had_ played a part in the undoing of her world just as much as Kid Flash had.

Everything was fine before she saw this necklace.

"So you're supposed to be lucky, huh? All you've brought me is more. Bad. Luck!" Jinx snarled at the necklace, swinging it from her fingertips. Her eyes completely captivated by the blood red glistening gem.

'_Isn't that supposed to be good luck? So what with you being bad luck won't it counter out_' See-Mores voice haunted the back of her mind.

Jinx growled bitterly.

'_Of course I knew that_!' she thought viciously to herself. She'd have been stupid not to know that!

And yet she had still wanted the necklace, some small part of her hoping, pleading that it wouldn't counter out. That it would have actually changed her luck.

Jinx closed her eyes and bit her lip drawing blood; it tasted bitter.

What had she been thinking?

She had hoped. _Hoped_, that her bad luck wouldn't have countered the good luck.

And that was her mistake.

She had taken a chance, _pushed her luck_, luck that she didn't have. _That's_ why everything had back fired. _That's_ why her luck had taken a dive for the worst. _Wh_y everything was so horribly screwed up now. _Why_ she now knew the truth.

Jinx glared at the necklace. It was the necklaces fault that she knew no one cared.

Her _team _didn't care.

_He_ didn't care.

No _one_ cared.

Gone two bloody weeks and no one had sought her out! Was she that insignificant that everyone was able to carry on with their lives as if she had never mattered, as is she had never existed? Not so much as a question as to why she was gone!

No one _**cared**_!

And that was the bitter truth that she now had to live with.

A tear escaped Jinx's defences and before she knew it she was scrubbing violently at her eyes with the sleeve of her costume.

'_Stop crying. It doesn't matter! They aren't worth it_!' she hissed viciously to herself. '_If they don't care then you don't care. They don't want you. Then you don't need them_!'

* * *

(A/N) Sorry it took so long to update, I had to re-write this chapter a few times and kept debating with myself where I should leave off this chapter. My little brother kept on hassling me to update so you can thank him for the chapter update otherwise god only knows when I would have updated.

I'd like to thank everyone whom liked my story and took the time to read it and I would also like to thank KoolBrunette06 for my first ever review. I was absolutely thrilled when I received it.

Well hope you liked the story so far and please feel free to review and drop some tips, advice or constructive criticism (though try not to be too harsh on me otherwise I shall send Kid Wicked to avenge me; joking).


	3. Appreciation Part 2

Chapter 3-Appreeacation (part 2)

(A/N) Hope you like this chapter. Decided to post it way earlier than I was planning. I didn't actually think I'd finish this chapter as quickly as I did.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or any of the characters in the show.

* * *

Never assume something unless you have concrete evidence to back it up. As the saying goes 'don't make assumptions, because you make an ass out of you and an ass out of me.'

* * *

'_You don't need them Jinx. You're stronger than this_' Jinx tried to drill the thought into her head. After the first few minutes of continually chanting the message sunk in. She didn't need them. She was a strong, independent girl who could survive on her own.

She didn't need them to make it big in the villain world. She didn't need their help nor did she need their company. And more importantly she didn't…

Jinx sobered up slightly at the thought. She didn't…want them.

No…for some reason that thought didn't seem right. It didn't ring true to her.

Her team were idiots. They had low ambitions if any, were hopeless and irresponsible, immature and yet…she missed them.

She missed waking up every morning fresh as a daisy and having the sadistic pleasure of waking them up and dragging them kicking and screaming out of bed.

She missed being the only one capable of waking up Kid Wicked without suffering his wrath that would shame even the most fearsome of the gods.

She missed eating with them. It was always a comical affair.

Gizmo would be sitting working on his latest project while simultaneously munching on his food.

Mammoth would be stuffing his face, eating so much that Jinx had to wonder if his stomach wasn't really an endless black hole.

And it was fun, though at the time very irritating, when Billy Numerous would duplicate himself in a attempts to get seconds and third servings. Never worked but you had to love a trier.

Then you had Kid Wicked who would sit happily at the table beside See-More and eat away.

And finally there was See-More, who would always try to help her cook but the poor boy was a terrible cook and whether it was his own brew of bad luck or partially because of Jinx, he had always a habit of nearly destroying the kitchen. And as a result of that he was banned from said kitchen when Jinx was cooking.

She also missed going on missions with them. Although tonight was proving that she was more successful on her own she always had fun being with the guys of HIVE five when wreaking havoc. It was fun. It was more fun doing it in a team than it was doing it alone. And afterwards they would always celebrate whenever they were successful and had had a good night.

_God_ she actually missed them.

_'Guess you never really realizes what you have until its gone, huh_?' she thought resignedly to herself.

It wasn't a nice feeling. Suddenly realization that something you took for granted was so important and only realising it when it was too late; when it was already out of reach.

As all the happy memories she had shared with the HIVE five played out in her mind she could see the image of herself reaching out, trying to grasp hold of the memories, but found they vanished like smoke at the touch of her hand.

What's gone is gone. You can't get it back.

Jinx was snapped from her thoughts when another tear threatened to spill from her eyes.

_'Oh no you don't_' she thought stubbornly as she swiped it away and turned to leave.

She didn't get very far as when she turned she nearly collided with Kid Wicked.

"God damn it Kid Wicked! Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?" Jinx shrieked, a hand darting to clutch at her chest where her heart was beating excruciatingly hard from the surprise.

"Wait a minute…What are you doing here?" Jinx asked suddenly, taking a step back to distance herself from Kid Wicked.

"What do you mean what are we doing here snot-picker!" Gizmo shouted indignantly from somewhere behind Kid Wicked.

Jinx looked behind Kid Wicked and saw all her former teammates standing a few feet away.

'_Why are they here_?' Jinx thought quietly to herself.

In her mind there were only two possible reasons. One, they were here to rob the museum again but that would be very stupid trying to rob the same place twice in one week. Jinx liked to think she had taught them better than that.

The second reason, which seemed more likely, was that her team had hunted her down and where now wanting to fight for whatever reason it was. Maybe they didn't like the fact she had ditched them, who knows. All she did know was that she wasn't going down without a fight.

She cartwheeled to the side to put some distance between her and Kid Wicked. Then, pink lights began to dance around her hands. "If it's a fight you want then it's a fight you'll get midget!"

Gizmo, who was hovering in the air thanks to his jet back, felt his mouth drop.

"Excuse me!"

"You're excused! Now get out of here before I kick your sorry excuse for a butt from here to China!" Jinx snapped.

"Now wait just a cotton pickin minute there Jinx. I think ye've got the wrong idea here" Billy Numerous shouted from beside Mammoth, waving his hands quickly to emphasis the point.

It was too late though, Gizmo's short-temper, no pun intended, was already shooting lasers and Jinx was rolling out of the way of them. Quickly jumping on top of a small display her eyes glowed a furious pink and Gizmo's jetpack began to malfunction before sending the young genius spiralling through the air; a trail of grey smoke staining the air behind him.

"What are you waiting for you crud-munchers'…GET HER!" Gizmo's screeched as he flew madly through the air, barely missing pillars before crashing into the far end wall.

Jinx jumped down from the display and faced the rest of the HIVE five. Kid Wicked and See-More were watching her intently; neither taking up a fighting stance or showing any signal that they were about to attack.

Mammoth and three Billy Numerous however where leaning over the balcony, to busy watching Gizmo try to peel himself off from the wall, barely managing to contain their laughter at the sight of the boy who looked more like a freshly swatted bug on the wall than an evil diabolical genius villain.

"Jinx. We're not here to fight you" See-More spoke suddenly, catching everyone's attention.

Billy Numerous and his clones joined back into one and Mammoth turned to face the scene.

"Then why are you here?" Jinx snapped impatiently. She knew she had to get out of there pronto before the Teen Titans or worse showed up.

"Why'd you runaway?" was See-More quiet response.

The question caught Jinx off guard. Why would they care why she left? Since when have they cared? "It's none of your business!"

See-More's moth dropped. Mammoth's head snapped to face Jinx. Kid Wicked remained unemotional as ever and Billy Numerous found himself feeling like he's just been slapped in the face-a mutual feeling shared by all the HIVE five boys.

"None of our business! What the heck is that supposed to mean! JINX YOU'R OUR FRIEND!" See-More shouted; clenching his fists angrily at his side.

Everyone was surprised by the outburst but the others couldn't help but feel the same way.

All this time they had been worried about her, worried for her safety, wondering where on Earth she could be. And now they find her, alive and well and she didn't see any reason why where she had been was any of their business.

They were _supposed_ to be a team.

They were _supposed_ to be friends.

They were _supposed_ to be family.

But now there was doubt in their minds if Jinx had ever felt this way at all.

"Do…do you know how worried we were fir ye girl!" Billy Numerous spluttered angrily as he broke the stunned silence. "We didn't have a clue as to where ye where or nuthin! Ye jist up'd and left without as much as a word!"

"Well if you cared so much why didn't you come looking for me" Jinx shouted back.

"We thought you'd left us for that snot nosed goody toe shoes Kid Flash!" Gizmo yelled from across the room having managed to pull himself together from smashing into the now Gizmo shaped cracked wall.

"And anyways" Gizmo continued as he patted of the dust and debris from the wall of his clothes "How where we suppose to know where you where huh? For all we knew you could have left the states!"

Jinx felt deflated all of a sudden, all her anger draining out of her. They had been worried about her, but because of her own stupidity they had thought she had run off with Kid Flash.

They had thought she had betrayed them. That explained why they went after the necklace to spite her. They wanted to get back at her for betraying them. Show her that they didn't need her.

They felt betrayed. Backstabbed and hurt. Their leader had walked out on them and what's worse they thought she had turned her back on all she knew and went over to the good side.

How stupid could she have been? What kind of leader was she anyways?

She was supposed to look out for her teammates; she was supposed to be the leader who held it together for her team. She was the rock for them to lean on and here she was running off feeling lost and betrayed all because of a hero and a few words.

She shouldn't have listened to Kid Flash's word never mind actually consider them or let them get to her like she did.

_'Why do you hang out with those losers anyways? They're only holding you back'_

_'I know. That's what I keep telling…what do you know?'_

_'I know you too good for all this'_

The memory burned at the back of her mind.

Yes, her team did hold her back. Yes, they were immature, lazy, unambitious, and inconsiderate and they did drive her up the walls at time. But, there were good times when they had fun and could have a laugh without trying to kill one another.

They were friends.

Family.

And although they may hold her back she didn't care. She knew that if they put their minds to it they could accomplish great things.

They weren't '_losers_' as Kid Flash had so eloquently put it.

Jinx looked at each of the HIVE five members.

Kid Wicked.

See-More.

Mammoth.

Billy Numerous.

And Gizmo.

They all tried to hide it, being boys and not wanting to seem all emotional or weak, but Jinx could clearly see the hurt and betrayal in their eyes.

She didn't know what to say. "I'm…I'm sorry" she mumbled quietly, the pink light fading from her hands and her body falling out of its fighting stance.

The boy's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. Their Jinx…apologizing?

"You're…sorry?" Gizmo asked, saying the word 'sorry' as though it were some strange and unfamiliar word to him.

Jinx nodded her head then kept her eyes facing the ground.

"Wait a minute here. Why'er ye sorry?" Billy Numerous asked, scratching his head.

"For not being a better leader that I was meant to be. For running off and leaving you guys thinking I'd betrayed you. For only thinking about myself and not my team or my friends!" Jinx gritted through her teeth before finishing off practically screaming the words.

She was angry, not at the boys, but at herself.

"I let Kid Flash's words get to me. I let him…confuse me" she finished, her voice straining. "I left because…oh, I don't even know why I left anymore! I wanted to make something of myself and I thought…I thought you were holding me back! I didn't even know if I to even wanted still be a villain or if I maybe wanted to maybe…ughh!"

The HIVE five watched as the pink haired girl threw her hands into the air and then bit her lip bitterly. "I don't even know what I wanted to do…I…I was."

Jinx took in a deep breath then exhaled. "I was lost."

And then before she could stop herself more of those treacherous tears began to pour from her eyes uncontrollably. Once again she found herself scrubbing furiously at her eyes.

'_Oh come on, just breath Jinx, breath_' she tried to tell herself to calm the tears but it didn't work. Instead she began almost hyperventilating. '_Oh god, they're going to laugh at me. I swear to god I'll kill them if they_…'

What the boys of the HIVE five did next halted Jinx's tears instantly.

Billy Numerous had wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him in a comforting gesture.

She could feel the gentle pat of Mammoths large hand on top of her head, gently offering what little comfort he could think of.

See-More gentle hugged her on the opposite side of Billy while Kid Wicked took her hand and squeezed it, his face void of emotion.

Gizmo tried to shuffle close to her but there wasn't much room so instead, with a somewhat strained effort, he gave her a soft smile that ever so slightly wavered which probably had something to with the blush that had stained his cheeks. After a few seconds he turned around and huffed, clearly too embarrassed to do anything more.

Jinx knew the boys were uncomfortable with this sort of show of affections and yet here they were, trying their hardest to give her some form of comfort.

They were looking out for her.

They cared about her.

The thought allowed a brilliant smile to spread on Jinx's face and before she knew what she was doing she was laughing and crying at the same time. Not caring about anything she turned around and threw her arms around See-More and Billy Numerous knocking them into a startled Mammoth.

"Thanks guys" Jinx smiled as she squeezed the captured boys tightly.

"Oh what, they're the only ones looking out for you?" Gizmo muttered as he crossed his arms tightly in front of his chest.

Jinx laughed a wicked laugh then gave the small genius a quick peck on the cheek which turned his cheeks scarlet.

"WOW! What the heck are you doing snot-picker! Gross!" Gizmo yelled as he pushed Jinx away. He immediately began wiping his cheek with the sleeve of his costume, muttering something about girls and their cooties.

Jinx looked to Kid Wicked who shook his head and turned to point to the main door on the bottom floor.

"Yeah, Kid Wickeds right. We should probably get out of here before the Teen Titans get here" Mammoth said while he helped See-More and Billy Numerous to their feet by yanking them ungraciously by the collar and plopping them on the ground.

"Yeah. Come on let's…I mean" Gizmo began but instead stopped himself and took a deep breath and looked as though he was swallowing something very big, pride perhaps?

"So…Jinx…what are we going to do?"

"What?" Jinx asked; puzzled.

Another deep breath, "You're the leader, it's your call. Rob em' blind or will we get out of here before those cruddy Teen Titans show up?"

Jinx paused for a second, before a smile came onto her face. She turned to face her comrades.

"HIVE five…Rob em' blind!"

* * *

"Well, that was fun, but if ye'll excuse me I think I have a date with madam X-Box 360" Billy Numerous said as he and five of his clones finished throwing their goods into the vaults of the HIVE five base where they kept all their spoils.

The five Billy's ran off to head upstairs. "Ye coming Mammoth so I can whip ye again at Black Opts?" one called over his shoulder.

He was answered by the sound of running booming footsteps charging for the small doorway. "Oh you wait man, you're going down!"

Two of the Billy's who had stayed behind had no time to get out of the way of the charging Mammoth who simply crashed through the wall and hurried on upstairs; leaving behind two flattened Billy Numerous's stuck to the floor.

"Well I'm off to bed, see you later Snot heads." Gizmo declared with a yawn before using his spider legs to take him into the direction of his room.

"Oh yeah and umm, Jinx?" he said once he was at the doorway, not facing her as he spoke.

Jinx put down the box of artefacts she had been carrying onto the floor of the vaults "Yeah?"

"It's umm. It's good to have you back okay!" Gizmo snapped quickly before making a hasty escape to his room.

"What's biting him?" See-More asked with a question mark in his eyeball.

Jinx let out a small laugh "He just isn't use to all the '_gooey girly feeling stuff._'"

"Yeah well don't get to use to it. Everything will be back to normal tomorrow. It ain't Gizmo's style to keep up the whole nice guy act" See-More said as he placed down the large antique vase he had been carrying.

"Well, see you later Jinx and remember. We're here for you okay. I know we ain't exactly the most sentimental bunch but, we're still your team, okay? And, we're here for you."

"Thanks See-More. Good night" Jinx smiled as she patted him fondly on the head.

Jinx turned to see Kid Wicked give her a nod of the head before disappearing in a vortex of darkness.

With Kid Wicked gone, only Jinx was left alone in the vaults.

"Everything will be back to normal?" Jinx repeated aloud. But it wasn't a statement. It was a question.

Could everything really go back to the way it was?

No…she realised with a hollow feeling swelling inside her, it couldn't.

'_Why do you hang out with those losers anyways_?' Kid Flash's voice whispered in the back of her mind. '_They're only holding you back_.'

Jinx clenched her hands into fists at her side. Her team weren't losers. They may have been a lot of things but losers were not one of them.

She was so fed up with everyone underestimating her and her team.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten that her team when they had first come face to face with the Teen Titans under the name of the HIVE five they had beaten the Titans.

Not only that but three of the members were graduates from the HIVE academy, a feat not easily achieved.

And tonight's victory only served to strengthen the point.

They may not be in the big leagues yet but they were not losers.

Jinx took out her communicator from her pocket and starred at the yellow 'H' that represented the Hive five.

"Kid Flash. I'll not only show you just how good I am." Jinx whispered to herself, determination in her eyes as she squeezed the communicator tightly in the palm of her hands. "But my team as well."

Nothing was going to go back to normal.

And it was **_his_** fault.

* * *

(A/N) Well, thank you for taking some time to read this and thank you for the alerts and thank you so much KoolBrunette06 for taking some time to write another reveiw. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I shall get to work on the next chapter pronto.

Feel free to leave any advice, tips or constructive criticism (though try to be easy on me please.)


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